Anna of Saxony (7 March 1437 – 31 October 1512) was a princess of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

by birth and an Electress of Brandenburg by her marriage to

Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg Albrecht III (9 November 141411 March 1486) was Elector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from the House of Hohenzollern. A member of the Order of the Swan, he received the cognomen ''Achilles'' because of his knightly qualit ...

Life

Anna was a daughter of the Elector Frederick II of Saxony from his marriage to Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Duke

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

of Austria. On 12 November 1458, Anna married Albert Achilles of Brandenburg, later Elector Albert III Achilles, in

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

. To further cement the tie between the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

and the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

, the marriage contract also planned a marriage between Anna's brother

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

and Albert Achilles' daughter from his first marriage, Ursula, but both married children of King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

instead. As her

Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

, Anna received

Hoheneck Castle Hoheneck Castle is a medieval castle above Ipsheim and also a district of the municipality of Ipsheim in the Landkreis Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim in Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. Since 1984, the youth castle serves as an educationa ...

and district, plus

Leutershausen Leutershausen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 12 km west of Ansbach. History Leutershausen was probably founded by Frankish settlers around 800. For the first time it ...

and Colmberg. Through her marriage, she became stepmother to Albert Achilles's four children from his earlier marriage with Margaret of Baden. At the time of Anna's marriage, Albert Achilles held all the Franconian possessions of the Hohenzollerns. In 1470, he also inherited the

Electorate of Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the fifth-largest German state b ...

. In 1473, Anna agreed to a new House law, which made Mark Brandenburg indivisible but allowed the Franconian possessions to be shared among several sons. This meant that John Cicero, Albert Achilles's son from his first marriage, would become Elector of Brandenburg, but Anna's two sons would inherit the Frankish possessions. Albert Achilles specified in his will that Anna was entitled to income and residency in

Neustadt an der Aisch Neustadt an der Aisch (, ; officially: ''Neustadt a.d. Aisch'') is a small town of around 13,000 inhabitants in the northern part of Bavaria (Germany), within the Franconian administrative region Middle Franconia. It is the district town of t ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

Dachsbach Dachsbach is a market town and municipality in the district of Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia in northern Bavaria in Germany. Geography Dachsbach is located in the valley of the Aisch. The boroug ...

Baiersdorf Baiersdorf is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in northern Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The major part of Baiersdorf is idyllically situated on a terrace which preserves the town from being flooded by the close Regnitz river ...

and Liebenow. Her sons, however, would retain sovereignty over those territories. Anna survived her husband by 26 years and resided mostly in Neustadt an der Aisch, where she maintained a relatively luxurious court. Anna died in 1512 and was buried in

Heilsbronn Abbey Heilsbronn Abbey was a Cistercian monastery at Heilsbronn in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It was part of the Bishop of Eichstätt, Diocese of Eichstätt. History It was founded in 1132–33 b ...

. The memorial on her tomb was built in about 1502 and is still preserved.

Issue

Anna was constantly pregnant during much of her marriage to Albert Achilles, giving birth to thirteen children in just eighteen years. Eight of them lived to adulthood: #

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

(1460–1536), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, married in 1479 princess

Sophia of Poland Sophia Jagiellon (; ; 6 May 1464 – 5 October 1512) was a princess of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, great-granddaughter of Emperor Sigismund and by marriage Margravine of Brandenbur ...

(1464–1512) # Amalie (1461–1481) married in 1478 Count Palatine Kaspar of Zweibrücken (1458–1527) # Anna (* / † 1462), died in infancy # Barbara (1464–1515) married firstly in 1472 Duke Henry XI of Crossen and Glogau (ca. 1430–1476); married secondly in 1476 King Vladislav II of Bohemia (1456–1516) (divorced in 1500) # Albert (* / † 1466), died in infancy # Sibylle (1467–1524) married in 1481 Duke Wilhelm IV of Jülich-Berg (1455–1511) # Siegmund (1468–1495), Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach # Albert (* / † 1470), died in infancy # Dorothea (1471–1520), Abbess in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

# George (1472–1476), died in childhood # Elisabeth (1474–1507) married in 1491, Count Hermann VIII of Henneberg-Aschach (1470–1535) # Magdalene (1476–1480), died in childhood # Anastasia (1478–1534) married in 1500 Count William IV of

Henneberg-Schleusingen The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. U ...

(1478–1559)

Ancestors

References

* Frederick Albert of Langenn
''Duke Albrecht the Brave, the progenitor of the royal house of Saxony'', p. 37 ff
* Daniel Martin Ernst Kirchner
''The electresses and queens on the throne of the Hohenzollerns ...'', Volume 1, 134 ff
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anna of Saxony, Electress Of Brandenburg House of Wettin House of Hohenzollern 1437 births 1512 deaths Electresses of Brandenburg Burials at Heilsbronn Abbey Daughters of dukes Mothers of German monarchs Daughters of prince-electors